Summoned a God by Mistake, Now He Won’t Go Back - Chapter 72

While the witches were causing chaos, the warehouse on the opposite side of the camp was unusually quiet, spared only because it was far from the commotion.

“Who is that guy anyway? Why are we keeping him locked up?”

“Orders say he’s suspicious and doesn’t speak our language, so we’re to detain him for now.”

“I know a few foreign tongues. Want me to try?”

One soldier opened the warehouse door and approached Alnazir. Compared to the witches, he was deemed less dangerous, he wasn’t even tied up.

The soldier called out to get his attention and cleared his throat. Rolling his tongue exaggeratedly, he spoke several phrases in an unfamiliar language—asking about his origin, name, age.

Alnazir glanced at the soldier’s earnest effort without interest, folded his arms, and closed his eyes.

“Guess he’s not from the Disker region.”

Embarrassed, the soldier scratched his head while his companion snickered.

“Or maybe your pronunciation was so terrible he couldn’t understand?”

“My pronunciation was fine. He’s probably from somewhere even farther north.”

“Or maybe he’s pretending not to understand.”

Their constant chatter with the door wide open grated on Alnazir’s nerves. He was already in a foul mood.

Then, behind the two laughing soldiers, something cold and ominous swept past.

A sudden chill made them spin around and the torches outside the warehouse snuffed out all at once.

Did that foreigner do that?

No idea.

Neither dared to speak. They exchanged nervous glances instead. When silence finally settled, Alnazir let out a slow breath with his eyes still closed.

There was no water here. Not even a proper bed. It was a makeshift warehouse, nothing more than a piece of cloth spread over packed dirt. The uneven ground pressed against him.

He leaned against the wall, one knee drawn up.

Fay would be imprisoned somewhere nearby. She wouldn’t be able to escape on her own. He would have to go rescue her. But before that, he needed to think.

She was furious. If enough time passed and she realized that following his advice was the easiest path, all the better. But he had to consider the possibility that she would stubbornly cling to her anger.

Otherwise, that small, shy mouth that once confessed she wanted him by her side might spit out another curse.

‘You’ll fall back into solitude.’

How dare she say such a thing? Was it arrogance born of ignorance about who he was? It crossed the line of what he could easily forgive.

That was the real problem.

Rescuing her would be simple enough. But forgiving her? He wasn’t certain.

He had no intention of leaving this world. Nor did he intend to give up on Fay. The softness clinging to her limbs, her lips—every part of her.

She was already his. Even if she ran in anger. Even if she rejected him. That wouldn’t change.

“I have to take her back…”

Yes. He had to reclaim her. Lock her in his hands so she could never vanish again. Or perhaps swallow her whole and keep her inside him instead.

As Alnazir’s thoughts spiraled into dangerous territory, a voice echoed in his mind.

“How pathetic.”

The presence that had briefly fallen silent when the golden army reached Aldehallow had returned. But unlike before, when it had been anxious, today it brimmed with confidence. It stood at the edge of Alnazir’s mental abyss, looking down at him with mockery.

It had never posed much of a threat, so he had ignored it until now. But today, the way it entered through his mind as if it were its own home irritated him.

He should shut it out completely, seal off his consciousness so no voice could intrude—

“The witch abandoned you and ran.”

The Emperor’s laughter rang out triumphantly.

Alnazir dismissed it as nonsense. He knew Fay well. She had neither the strength to fight nor to flee.

But the Emperor shattered that certainty.

“The other witches whisked away the one you dote on—what was her name? Fay? They snatched her up and fled without even glancing back. And you? You didn’t even try to save her!”

“The black-haired witch…”

He remembered the witch who kept a silver snake.

Rescuing Fay was his role, his alone.

And yet that black-haired witch had dared to steal it from him?

He had intended to ignore the Emperor until the voice tired itself out. But slowly, like something rising from the depths of the sea, Alnazir opened his eyes.